The Dallas Stars' five-game road trip represents a key juncture of the first half of the 2011-12 season. When the club sustained a sloppy loss to the Islanders in the last home game before the trip and followed it up by getting blown out in San Jose, it was clear that the Stars had come to a fork in the road.
The team, which had started off the season in such promising fashion, appeared to be at major risk of their second lengthy losing streak of the season. In the tightly packed Pacific Division and Western Conference standings, teams can scarcely afford to go more than a game or two without adding to their point totals.
The Stars earn high marks for the way they turned things around in the last two games. Over the course of any successful season, a team needs help from a variety of sources --- both expected and unexpected -- to overcome the inevitable adversity along the way.
When the Stars broke out of their early November skid to go on a nice little mini-run of five of a possible six points, it was the third line unit of Eric Nystrom, Radek Dvorak and Vern Fiddler who were the spark plugs. In the last two games, it has been rookie goalie Richard Bachman who has helped galvanize the club.
In his two NHL starts to date, Bachman has plugged the gap caused by Kari Lehtonen's ongoing absence from the lineup. Bachman's poise stands out as much as his mechanics.
Team defense and goaltending have a symbiotic relationship. When one is going well, the other is elevated. When one struggles for too long, it inevitably drags the other one down with it. In turn, too much defensive/goaltending struggle eventually drains a team's ability to score goals because it is too concerned about preventing the puck from going back the other way.
As a team, the Stars have generally played well defensively in front of Bachman in defeating the Kings (2-1) on Saturday and the Rangers (1-0) last night. The rookie has also helped the defense out by controlling rebounds effectively and by knowing when to freeze the puck and when to keep it in play.
The lone goal Bachman has allowed came on an odd-man shorthanded rush for the Los Angeles Kings. Nothing soft has gotten by him yet, which has enabled Dallas' inconsistent offense to make modest production hold up. In so doing, the Stars have moved back into first place in the Pacific Division.
With a win in Long Island tomorrow night, the Stars will clinch a winning road trip no matter what happens when they visit the New Jersey Devils on Friday (Dallas' third game in four nights). If Dallas can finish the road trip with at least a 3-1-1 record, a trip that started on such an ominous note will wind up being a success.
There is a lot of work yet to be done for the Stars to accomplish that feat before returning home to the American Airlines Center. Scoring a few more goals would go a long way toward making it a reality. Bachman's run may continue for a little longer but, sooner or later, the offense is going to have to run with the torch for the next stretch.
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This week's
Across the Pond at NHL.com looks at Marty Turco's decision to play for Austrian team EC Red Bull Salzburg at the Red Bulls Salute tournament taking place in Austria over the weekend.
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In conjunction with our sponsor, Hockeytickets.ca, I am pleased to announce our first random drawing to win a pair of free Dallas Stars tickets. The winner will receive two seats to see the Stars host the current Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Flyers at the American Airlines Center on Wed. December 21.
To enter the contest, simply send an email to
[email protected] with Flyers-Stars ticket contest in the subject line. A winner will be chosen in a random drawing on Thursday evening and announced on Friday.
The contest is open to Stars and Flyers fans alike. However, please note that the contest is for the tickets ONLY. We cannot provide transportation or other accommodations if the contest winner is someone who has to travel to Texas for the game.
If you enter the contest, PLEASE make sure you will be able to use the tickets on Dec. 21 or else we will have to draw an alternate winner.
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